End-to-end encryption ( E2EE ) is now a part of the GSM Association’s ( GSMA ) announcement to secure messages sent using the Rich Communications Services (RCS) protocol, providing much-needed security for cross-platform messages shared between iOS and Android.
E2EE based on the Messaging Layer Security ( MLS ) protocol is included in the new GSMA specifications for RCS via what is known as the .
Tom Van Pelt, complex director of GSMA, stated that” the new features determine how to use MLS within the framework of RCS.” ” These procedures make sure that information and other records, including documents, remain private and secure as they travel between clients,” he says.
RCS will also be the first “large-scale communication service” to assist interconnected E2EE between various client implementations from various providers in the near future.
In order to address the lack of built-in E2EE safeguards, Google’s unique deployment of RCS, used in the Messages app for Android, uses the Signal process to secure conversations. Despite this, the cryptography safeguards are now only applied to messages sent via the app, not those sent to iOS messages users or Android users using various RCS clients.
The development comes nearly six months after the GSMA announced that it was putting end-to-end encryption ( E2EE ) in place to secure messages sent between the iOS and Android ecosystems. The decision came after Apple made the decision to add RCS support to its own Communications app for iOS 18.
Google made the announcement in July 2023 that it would put MLS support to its Messages services and open-source an implementation of the specification.
According to Van Pelt, “RCS continues to support a range of integrated messaging features between iOS and Android users, including group messaging, the ability to promote high-resolution media, and see read receipts and coding indicators.”
Google stated when contacted for comment that it had been “dedicated to providing a secure messaging experience” and that Google Messages users have used end-to-end encrypted ( E2EE ) RCS messaging for years. We’re excited to have the most recent version of the GSMA specification and work with the wireless ecosystem to implement and extend cross-platform RCS messaging, which is crucial to user protection.